Before it was a hit Prime Video streaming series, The Wheel of Time was a beloved series of fantasy novels by Robert Jordan. This original canon encompasses a whopping 15 entries – which begs the question: which Wheel of Time books are the best (and worst)?
It wasn’t easy, but after a bit of soul-searching – and at least as much re-reading – we’ve settled on the following rankings. So read on to see where your favorite Wheel of Time tome landed!
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15. Crossroads of Twilight
Universally regarded as the weakest link in the Wheel of Time series, Crossroads of Twilight brings the overarching narrative to a screeching halt. Jordan’s 10th Wheel of Time doorstop takes place around the same time as its predecessor, Winter’s Heart, killing any sense of momentum.
Crossroads of Twilight is also very much Jordan in “subplot, subplot, subplot” mode. Sure, plenty of this material is interesting, and some of it (such as Mat and Tuon’s relationship) is important later. But it ultimately makes the Last Battle feel further away than ever.
On the plus side, Crossroads of Twilight wraps up with a low-key great twist, so that’s something, at least.
14. The Path of Daggers
The Path of Daggers is a fitting name for the eighth book in the Wheel of Time series since it’s a long, often painful reading experience.
Don’t get us wrong: there’s some good stuff in here – not least of all, the suitably epic battle that fills its closing chapters. But not even massive armies and magical lightning storms are quite enough to make up for The Path of Daggers‘ glacial pace early on.
This volume also gives short shrift to core characters such as Egwene and Mat (the latter of whom is absent entirely). True, we get to spend some quality time with the likes of Nynaeve and Elayne, but The Path of Daggers‘ overall vibe is that Jordan is treading water, narratively speaking.
13. Winter’s Heart
Jordan devotes a decent chunk of Winter’s Heart‘s 781 pages to Perrin slogging through the snow to rescue Faile. Unfortunately, the author succeeds a little too well at immersing us in Perrin’s frustration, as the monotony of these chapters makes them a chore to get through.
This glaring flaw is balanced out somewhat by the welcome return of Mat, along with a slightly bigger role for fan-favorite characters like Lan. Winter’s Heart also boasts a barnstormer of a climax that has major repercussions for The Wheel of Time‘s wider lore – and that’s nothing to sneeze at.
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12. A Crown of Swords
The Wheel of Time‘s gradual scope creep becomes more noticeable in A Crown of Swords. Even so, Jordan does an admirable job of keeping the main narrative rumbling on. Sure, the Aes Sedai’s antics bog things down occasionally, but Rand’s nail-biting duel with Sammael ultimately gets us back on track.
Not all of A Crown of Swords‘ subplots are a momentum killer, either. Notably, the seventh Wheel of Time installment lays the groundwork for the Mat/Gholam rivalry – a long-running feud that remains riveting right up until its eventual resolution in Towers of Midnight.
11. New Spring
Back in 2004, New Spring was the Wheel of Time prequel novel that nobody – and I mean nobody – wanted. Indeed, more than a few readers were cranky at Jordan for rewinding the clock to Moiraine and Lan’s first adventure together rather than focusing on wrapping things up.
Yet, divorced from that context, New Spring is actually a decent read. It’s always fun spending time with Moiraine and Lan, and their origin story fills in some significant gaps in the series’ continuity. At only 304 pages, New Spring is also refreshingly streamlined, with fewer subplots and ciphers than the other books.
10. The Dragon Reborn
The Dragon Reborn zeroes in on the prophecy surrounding Callandor – and mythical swords will never fail to pique fantasy fans’ interest. At the same time, the third Wheel of Time tome’s name is a bit of a misnomer, as Jordan’s shift away from Rand as the story’s central focus kicks off here.
This isn’t a bad thing per se, as it frees the scribe up to develop the series’ other characters more fully. But your mileage will likely vary on how satisfying The Dragon Reborn is, given Rand is effectively sidelined until very late in proceedings.
It’s also worth mentioning that The Dragon Reborn‘s big, Dark One-related revelation feels kinda cheap, even if it does allow Jordan to expand his original plans for the series.
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9. Lord of Chaos
With Lord of Chaos, we’re entering the stretch of our Wheel of Time rankings where there’s increasingly less to complain about. So, while we could grumble about this sixth outing’s occasionally convoluted plotting and general to-ing and fro-ing, that’s about the only bad thing we have to say.
Otherwise, Lord of Chaos is an engaging read from cover to cover. It’s full of political intrigue, shocking reversals of fortune, and momentous missions, capped off by one of the most unforgettable battles in Wheel of Time history. In short – stuff happens in this book, and pretty much all of it rules.
8. Knife of Dreams
Rightly or wrongly, Knife of Dreams comes across as a conscious attempt by Jordan to right the ship following fans’ backlash over Crossroads of Twilight. Forward momentum is the order of the day in the Wheel of Time canon’s 11th entry, which opens with a page-turner of a duel and never slows down.
Several ongoing plot threads are tied up in Knife of Dreams, not least of all Perrin’s hunt for Faile. Rand, Mat, and Egwene also see their own arcs progress meaningfully – with Egwene’s storyline arguably the best it’s been in several novels.
Is the Last Battle still agonizingly out of reach when Knife of Dreams‘ epilogue ends? 100%. But it’s also a helluva lot closer than before, which makes all the difference.
7. The Gathering Storm
The Gathering Storm is the first Wheel of Time book co-authored by Brandon Sanderson following Jordan’s death in 2007. This transition is virtually seamless, although there’s a briskness to the storytelling that even Jordan, at his most dynamic, would struggle to match.
That said, for all its pace, the 12th Wheel of Time novel is largely a stage-setter for the final two, so it lacks some of the punch of this list’s higher-ranked entries. Yet The Gathering Storm isn’t all set up – there’s plenty of payoff here, too.
Not only do Jordan and Sanderson draw a line under Rand’s seemingly endless angst once and for all, but they also deliver some knock-out, saga-spanning revelations via enigmatic supporting character Verin.
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6. The Fires of Heaven
The fifth Wheel of Time book, The Fires of Heaven re-centers the series on the World of the Wheel’s core characters, and they’re all given something worthwhile to do.
Rand tries to stamp out an Aiel rebellion, backed by Mat’s growing martial prowess. Nynaeve goes head-to-head with the Forsaken Moghedien. And Moiraine proves once and for all just how far she’ll go to ensure the Dragon Reborn fulfills his destiny.
If The Fires of Heaven has any real shortcoming, it’s that Perrin doesn’t show up. But chances are you’ll be too engrossed by everything that’s going on to even notice.
5. Towers of Midnight
If The Gathering Storm places the last of Wheel of Time‘s narrative dominos, Towers of Midnight is where they’re finally tipped over. That’s the sensation you get reading the series’ penultimate installment: it’s payoff after payoff as the finish line draws near.
This makes Towers of Midnight a captivating read – particularly those chapters detailing Mat, Thom, and Noal’s rescue mission late in the game. Jordan and Sanderson cram in a decent amount of character development, too, with the arcs of Rand, Egwene, and Perrin among the standouts.
Still, at its core, Towers of Midnight is more about adrenaline than emotion, which is why we didn’t rank it higher.
4. The Shadow Rising
After sitting out large stretches of The Dragon Reborn, Rand steps back into the spotlight in the fourth Wheel of Time entry, The Shadow Rising. The journey Jordan cooks up for him is a doozy, too – transplanting the young hero to the Aiel Waste, where stunning revelations await.
Yet The Shadow Rising ultimately belongs to Perrin, not Rand. The former blacksmith’s gradual transformation into “Lord Perrin” is one of the series’ most satisfying arcs, and his romance with Faile hits the mark, as well.
The upshot of this is that by the time Perrin’s calling the shots at the Battle of the Two Rivers, this comparatively small dust-up packs as much punch as a skirmish double its size.
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3. The Eye of the World
The Wheel of Time book that started it all, The Eye of the World encapsulates everything fans love about the series. Most of the core characters are here and already clearly rendered, just as Jordan’s world and its lore. Better still, all these elements are packaged up in a rollicking yarn that’s impossible to put down.
So, what’s keeping The Eye of the World from the top spot on this list? Well, for starters, the early chapters, while charming, suffer a bit from Jordan wearing his Tolkien influences on his sleeve. The Eye of the World also falls victim to “appetizer entry” limitations that prevent Jordan from truly cutting loose.
2. A Memory of Light
A Memory of Light is paradoxically a marathon and a 100-yard dash. The final Wheel of Time book is nearly 1,000 pages long and follows 14 hefty volumes, yet Jordan and Sanderson set such a blistering tempo that it feels like a much shorter read.
That A Memory of Light‘s pacing never costs it any narrative or emotional heft is downright impressive, as is the way Jordan and Sanderson conclude every character’s arc on surprising yet satisfactory terms. Even more incredibly, the pair pull all this off while orchestrating one of the most epic showdowns between good and evil the genre has ever seen.
Even more incredibly, the pair pull all this off while orchestrating one of the most epic showdowns between good and evil the genre has ever seen.
Few long-running sagas go out on a high note, but thanks to A Memory of Light, the Wheel of Time series does – and then some.
1. The Great Hunt
With The Great Hunt, Jordan could finally start to cook – and cook he does. The second Wheel of Time book moves at a cracking pace, driven by a strong quest with clearly defined goals and stakes. Jordan also finds time to develop Rand and his inner circle and expands the series’ mythos even further.
This includes the introduction of a formidable new enemy, the Seanchan, which sows the seeds for a conflict that helps propel the remaining Wheel of Time volumes. Best of all, Jordan draws The Great Hunt to a close with a genuinely awe-inspiring battle that’s still grounded in a human dimension.
Published: Dec 11, 2023 03:16 pm